MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – Long before he heard his name called by Adam Silver during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Cedric Coward\u2019s journey to the league had much more humble beginnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you would\u2019ve told me at any point in my coaching career until Cedric that you could go D-III and be a lottery pick, I would\u2019ve laughed in your face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kip Ioane was the head coach at Willamette University, a Division-III school in Salem, Oregon for over 20 years. <\/p>\n
He\u2019ll never forget the day his recruiting coordinator showed him the tape of an unknown high school player from Fresno, California.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like \u2018Why are you showing me this? This kid\u2019s too good for us,\u201d Ioane recalls. \u201cAnd he goes \u2018No, no coach, nobody\u2019s on him.\u2019 And I said \u2018Shut up\u2019, I just didn\u2019t believe him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That kid was Coward, who quit AAU ball, didn\u2019t have any D-I looks, and committed to Willamette shortly after. <\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take long for Ioane to realize he was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t even get to practice,\u201d Ioane says. \u201cMy leading scorers and my captains came back from the first open gym and said \u2018Coach who the hell is this kid? Because he\u2019s too good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Coward was dominant, but that doesn\u2019t mean he was treated differently.<\/p>\n
Ioane recalls: \u201cI\u2019m the idiot that didn\u2019t start him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was temporary, and for good reason at a school as academically prestigious as Willamette.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe turned a paper in late,\u201d Ioane explains. \u201cSo that professor was like \u2018Yeah, I know you are not this student, but you can\u2019t make that grade up for a while until we get to the next thing.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cTo Ced\u2019s credit, he knew full well he should\u2019ve been starting. He didn\u2019t complain once, he knew the rule. He just would come off the bench and dominate.\u201d<\/p>\n
After that freshman season, Coward jumped to Division-I and committed to Eastern Washington. <\/p>\n
He made a prophetic statement to Ioane before he left.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said \u2018Coach I just see a path for me to the NBA,\u2019\u201d Ioane says. \u201cAnd I was like \u2018Woah big fella, let\u2019s worry about being impactful in the Big Sky Conference.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to temper it, but Ced knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest is history in the making. Coward spent two years at Eastern Washington, an injury shortened year at Washington State, and now is the #11 pick in the draft to Memphis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said crazy over and over, and it just doesn\u2019t do it justice for this, because I don\u2019t know if anyone else has done this,\u201d Ioane explains. \u201cI know there\u2019s been D-III players that have gone (to the NBA) obviously, and Duncan Robinson is someone that all D-III players look up to. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut lottery pick from this position is once in a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ioane believes Coward will be a perfect fit in Memphis because his story is grit n\u2019 grind through and through.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a better example of somebody that\u2019s had to display those characteristics to get there,\u201d Ioane says. \u201cSomebody that was unrecruited, no scholarship offers. This is a guy that literally built his path. <\/p>\n
\u201cCed had to build a stage and the marketing plan to get anybody to see him on that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the world will be watching Coward on his new stage at FedexForum.<\/p>\n